Robert Pearlman

Comment Threads

• Bob Mahoney commented on Video: Avatar, Augmented Reality, and NASA
  Geoffrey, Arithmetic is a foundational element of mathematics (it's sure there in all my "History of Mathematics" texts, right at the beginning), just as penmanship is a foundational element of clear, effective writing/communication. Arguing over the precision of my semantics is missing the point: some have argued for decades in the echelons of education (or merely conveyed the notion through their attitude) that kids shouldn't bother with learning their arithmetic since they have calculators available for doing such menial drudgery, and the technology will only improve in this regard. Such is the calculator mentality that many children (and adults) possess...

• Mike Hilton commented on Video: Avatar, Augmented Reality, and NASA
  The only thing that I might add to an excellent post is that not only are kids being taught what to think, they are being taught that all opinions are equal even if unsupported by fact....

• Pellinore commented on Video: Avatar, Augmented Reality, and NASA
  OK, the McDonald's thing is a "mere novelty". I seem to recall that airplanes, rockets, and computers were in this category during their infancies. Imagine (extremely important and wise way to spend effort) the potential for providing EXPERIENCES with serious virtual hardware and/or software (influencing behavior of the virtual hardware) during proposal, design, review, decision-making, training, and operational control or performance environments, to mention just a few. Per Benjamin Franklin, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I learn. Involve me, and I remember."...

• TitanLakes commented on Video: Avatar, Augmented Reality, and NASA
  I don't have a problem with NASA going to the mass media, and in fact, I would encourage it. Right now that seems to be the best way to reach people. I'm not saying NASA should just go out and blanket the media with triviality, though. I would like to think that there are people out there who could handle outreach intelligently. Lamenting the state of our culture doesn't really accomplish anything constructive. NASA, as a government agency, is supposed to work for the taxpaying public. If the people at NASA want the public to understand and support what they're...

• Bob Mahoney commented on Video: Avatar, Augmented Reality, and NASA
  TitanLakes: I couldn't agree more, especially your specific point about doing so intelligently, as I outlined in my TSR essay back in 2007: http://www.thespacereview.com/article/802/1 http://www.thespacereview.com/article/807/1 My issue lies with the lamentable reality that many of us who would try to foster a broader interest in spaceflight seem to feel it necessary to employ instantaneous-fix gimmicks (triviality as you dub it) to reach the public instead of engaging them at a slightly higher level with sound, compelling storytelling. I feel that thusly the "arms race" of public engagement is trending downward toward a state of instant-gratification idiocracy instead of upward toward...